Daragh Bradshaw

University of Limerick | UL · Centre for Social Issues Research

The benefits of group membership for self‐reported measures of health are well documented; however, the processes by which they can influence biological health outcomes via cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses to stress, remains under explored. In the present study, we aim to address this gap by examining if belonging to a social group affec...

Emerging evidence suggests that social identities are an important determinant of adaptation following traumatic life experiences. In this paper, we analyse accounts of people who experienced child sexual abuse. Using publicly available talk of people who waived their right to anonymity following successful conviction of perpetrators, we conducted...

Paternal incarceration (PI) is recognised as a severely stigmatising event that undermines social connections leaving affected children isolated and vulnerable. However, few studies have explored social group membership as a potential mediator of positive outcomes. This paper analysed data from two national contexts, Scotland and the United States,...

Help‐line services provide a vital support to individuals experiencing mental or personal crisis. Recent years has seen a rise in both text‐based services as well as remote working conditions for those who offer help‐line services. Previous research has demonstrated positive and negative outcomes for individuals voluntarily offering support at cris...

Recent research indicates that social identities play a crucial role in the connection between adversity, post‐traumatic stress, and overall psychological well‐being. Understanding of how trauma influences collective dimensions of the self, positively or negatively, is limited. This study focuses on analysing publicly accessible narratives of four...

This is the protocol for an evidence and gap map. The objective of this EGM is to identify and map all primary studies (including randomised and cluster randomised trials) and systematic reviews on universal, school‐based social and emotional learning programmes for young children (3–11 years) to create a live, searchable, and publicly available ev...

Prevalence of mental health difficulties is demonstrably higher in prison rather than general populations. Compounding this, prisoners often display a reluctance to seek help, which can undermine rehabilitation. Recent years has seen an increase in studies exploring the factors involved in help‐seeking behaviours amongst prisoners. However, many of...

This is the protocol for a Campbell systematic review. The primary objective is to assess the effects of group‐based treatments on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomology in people diagnosed with PTSD (by a clinician or screening instrument) or referred to a PTSD treatment group for their symptoms by a medical professional. We will also e...

Objective: Childhood trauma is linked to the dysregulation of physiological responses to stress, particularly lower cardiovascular reactivity (CVR) to acute stress. The mechanisms that explain this association, however, are not yet fully understood. Method: Using secondary data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) Biomarker Project (N = 1,...

Authoritarianism emerges in times of societal threat, in part driven by desires for group-based security. As such, we propose that the threat caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with increased authoritarian tendencies and that this can be partially explained by increased national identification. We tested this hypothesis by collecting cr...

Predicting positive psychosocial outcomes following an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) remains a challenge. Considerable research demonstrates that social group memberships can have positive effects on psychological well-being, particularly during life transitions. Social group memberships are argued to help people derive a sense of self. This prospect...

Predicting positive psychosocial outcomes following an Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) remains a challenge. Considerable research demonstrates that social group memberships can have positive effects on psychological well-being, particularly during life transitions. Social group memberships are argued to help people derive a sense of self. This prospect...

Background: Although citizens in countries worldwide took coordinated steps to support collective public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, the processes that encourage citizens to adhere with COVID-19 restrictions are not fully understood. Method: A three-wave study with a sample of Irish citizens (N Wave 1 = 1,800) was conducted during the COVI...

The effectiveness of measures introduced to minimise the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) depends on compliance from all members of society. The Irish response to COVID-19 has been framed as a collective effort, fostering national solidarity. However, dominant representations of the national communi...

Parental incarceration (PI) is negatively associated with emotional, educational, and psychological child outcomes. However, few studies explore potential mechanisms through which these outcomes are transmitted or the means by which prosocial outcomes might develop. This study used data from two waves of a population cohort study of children aged 9...

Background. Parental incarceration (PI) is associated with adverse outcomes for children affected. However, research in this area often reports conflicting results with few studies following children across time in non-US populations. Additionally, more research is called for using multi-informant perspectives rather than relying on adult reports o...

In an attempt to combat the social isolation and stigma associated with the incarceration of a family member, increasingly efforts are made to support families affected by imprisonment. Many of these forms of support are delivered in groups. Participation in support groups generates benefits, sometimes referred to as the social cure, by enhancing a...

There is increasing acceptance that children are not unaware of when they are targets of discrimination. However, discrimination as a consequence of socio-economic disadvantage remains understudied. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of perceived discrimination on well-being, perceptions of safety and school integration amongst childre...